Home
 

Developing Partnerships

Unlocking Human Potential

Improving Livelihoods

Promoting Dignity

The Maji Approach

 

Ultimately, real development is in people and their ability to take increasing control over the resources and decisions that directly affect their lives
 

Kibera Ushirika wa Usafi Laini Saba (UULS) Water, Environment and Sanitation Project (KUWESA)

Project Details

Duration

1999-

Partners

SIDA, CORDAID, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), Maji na Ufanisi and UULS 

Beneficiaries

Laini Saba, Kibera Community in Nairobi

Project Purpose

To promote increased access to clean water and environmental sanitation in the village.

 

 

Project Description

Ushirika wa Usafi Laini Saba is a CBO operating in Laini Saba in Kibera slum, which is home to over 500 000 people and is reckoned to be the most populous slum in sub Saharan Africa.. Laini Saba Village is one of the thirteen villages in Kibera with an average population of 50,000 people. The CBO was initiated in 1997 by the local residents. At inception stage, it had only 80 members, but this figure has grown steadily to a strong membership of 300 people.

The CBO has partnered with Maji Na Ufanisi to implement the following projects in the village; a Bio – Latrine, a VIP toilet, several water points and storm drains. The group also acquired a vacutag through from UN Habitat to assist in exhaustion of the pit latrines. The CBO is currently running a day care centre/nursery established through savings from the water and sanitation sales.

The CBO has a leadership, management and governance structure depicted by the following committees; water and drainage committee, toilet and exhauster committee, welfare committee, savings and credit committee, hall and housing committee, nursery committee and finally mother and child committee.

This year 2007, NCWSC water service water provider within Nairobi region, has donated 4 water storage tanks to UULS and is in the process of constructing a sanitation block. This is a win-win situation, in which the company will reduce Unaccounted for Water (UfW) through increased use of legal connections while the community benefits from improved services.

Outputs

  1. Increased access to clean water supply
  2. Reduced incidences of diseases and hence relative reduction in the cost of medical care
  3. Reduced  cost of water prices from 10/= per 20 Lt to 2/= per 20 Lt.
  4. Enhanced community income base through sale and savings of water, and sanitation facility profits
  5. Improved community leadership, vision, interaction, cohesion, understanding and dialogue.
  6. Enhanced community skills in planning, implementation and management of project (staff, records, money, investments as well as operation and maintenance)

Lessons Leant

  1. Urban communities are capitalistic and lack strong basic social structures as opposed to rural communities. A lot of social capital building is therefore required before project implementation.
  2. Prioritization of water supply and environmental sanitation components for poor urban communities has to be done by beneficiaries in order to make them actively participate in the subsequent project phases.
  3. Poor urban communities, if well-organized, have adequate capacity to initiate dialogue that can overcome most of the major project implementation handicaps.
  4. Water supply and environmental sanitation improvement for poor urban residents is a perfect entry point for empowerment towards self-initiated development activities in an area (Once people are organized around an essential need such as water, they will organize themselves around other issues as well).
  5. Projects modeled around enterprise have more opportunities for growth and sustainability based on availability of income and motivation of members to participate in their operations

 

«Previous page

^top